Whispers in the Dark
by HappiestUnderClouds
Summary: Ichigo comes back late from a hollow fight, and pulls out his iPod to wind down. Shiro sees him doing this and comes out from his inner world, curious as to what he's doing. Sorry for the bad summary. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! This is my first fic! I hope it's ok, and that you like it! Be sure to press that awesome little button under the story, so I can hear your thoughts on this! **

**Warning: Bit of yaoi, cursing, OOCness, and features some songs that make you wanna dance!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, iPods, or the songs. If I owned Bleach, Shiro would get WAY more airtime! **

**Now on to the story!**

Ichigo sighed as he collapsed after defeating a particularly difficult hollow. He stretched his sore arms and glanced at his clock.

12:53 AM.

The carrot top groaned and shut his eyes, trying to fall asleep. His house was dark, his family slowly slipping into the dream realm, leaving him alone in mind. The young soul reaper's eyes snapped open in irritation, realizing he wasn't tired enough to sleep.

He opened his top desk drawer and pulled out his iPod, flicked the headphones into his ears, and started searching through his music, deciding what to play. He finally just put it on shuffle and set the device on his chest.

He chuckled when 'More' by Usher started playing. This song always pumped him up, so how was _this _going to help him fall asleep? He left it on, just cause he loved the song. The urge to dance his ass off engulfed his body, but he struggled to sit still and just twitch his foot to the beat.

_Watch me as I dance under the spotlight  
Listen to the people screaming out more and more,  
'Coz I create the feeling that keep 'em coming back,  
Yeah, I create the feeling that keep 'em coming back,  
So captivating when I get it on the floor._

He imagined Usher doing his mind-blowing moves around the stage and just that took his breath away.

_Know y'all been patiently waiting, I know you need me, I can feel it,  
I'm a beast, I'm an animal, I'm that monster in the mirror,  
The headliner, finisher, I'm the closer, winner.  
Best when under pressure one second's left I show up_.

'_That man sure can hella dance…'_

_If you really want more, scream it out louder,  
If you're on the floor, bring out the fire,  
And light it up, take it up higher,  
Gonna push it to the limit, give it more._

The image of himself dancing like that floated into his mind, and he almost laughed out loud. '_I can dance, but I sure as hell can't do that!'_

**Shiro's POV**

I was lying on the blue sideways buildings, humming tunelessly and randomly swinging Zangetsu around while shooting small Getsugas upwards. Ichigo's weariness created a slight pressure that pushed against me, and slightly darkened the normally bright, blue sky.

Curious as to why King was awake, even though he seemed so tired, I opened up our link.

'_Hey King.'_

Obviously my sudden communication with him while he was daydreaming came as a surprise, his startled tone leaked into his reply.

'…_Shiro? Wh…Why are you talking to me?'_

'_What can' I talk t' my King?' _

Ichigo remained silent, and I listened closer. I could hear a quite thumping that layered his thoughts. Confused, I peered into a window on the building I was sitting on. I looked through Ichigo's eyes, trying to understand the odd sound.

I saw small white cords leading up to his ears, and a shiny square-shaped thing lying on his chest. My curiosity took over, and I materialized into the real world like Zangetsu does every once in a while.

Sadly, only Ichigo could see me, but if that wasn't the case, I would've scared the hell out of some people by now. The thought of fear, surprise, and confusion written on their fragile faces made me chuckle, drawing Ichigo's attention to me, whereas a second ago, his back was facing me.

"GYAH! WHAT THE HELL SHIRO?" He screamed at me, scrambling up and ripping the little cords out of his ears. They had strange tips, like a curved finger, except much smaller and mashed flat at the tip. They looked smooth, and had little dots where the fingerprint would be.

His reaction only made me laugh that much louder, and my trademark, 'maniacal', grin flew across my face, infuriating the teen.

"What? Ya look like a ghost jus' popped up into yur room! D'ya scream this loud when you see your own reflection? Wuss. No wonder yur weaker 'n I am!"

Ichigo scowled at me, or deeper anyway. That scowl was something that would separate him from any clones of his that some freak could make….like Kurotsutchi from Soul Society. Or that pink haired guy from Hueco Mundo…what was his name? Szayel? Man those guys were screwed up. Maybe someone will put them out of their (and everyone else's) misery. I mean, the Shinigami guy walked around asking random 'different' people in the middle of battle to be his 'experiments' and that if they agreed, he wouldn't do 'life threatening' surgery. Right. Like we'll believe that. Maybe we'll dress up in a tutu and surprise you some Friday night and crawl with you into bed. Keep dreaming you freaky clown-looking guy. Cause I don't know one single person who would be fucked up enough to sleep with _you_. Which, in my opinion, would be _much_ worse than the actual experiments. And Szayel…that dude's just a stalker. He used his own brother to get information, and didn't even give a shit when he died. That dude just plain has issues. And eating those wacky creature things to heal? Ick.

Ichigo interrupted my thought process, which I suppose was good cause I was kind of ranting….to myself….I think pathetic is an understatement. Oh God I'm doing it again….

"Shiro? Did you hear what I said?"

I jerked out of my ranting thoughts…again…and looked up dumbly. "'Eh?"

Ichigo face-palmed.

"I _said_, why are you here in the physical world?"

I glanced at the shiny square that was at the edge of Ichigo's bed. Said orange head followed his gaze.

"Is it cause of this?"

"Heh heh, abou' tha' King….What's'it do?"

Ichigo looked like he was on the verge of face palming again but sighed and simply said "An iPod."

"Oooooohhh…A' iPod…Wha' the hell's an iPod?"

Ichigo picked up one of the small smooth white finger things again and held it out to him.

"See for yourself. Put that in your ear."

I confusedly obeyed the Shinigami and stuck it in my ear, after a little trouble. It was smooth and warm after being used by Ichigo.

"Well now wha' King?"

Ichigo simply smiled and clicked a few buttons on the 'iPod' and stuck the other thing into his ear. He clicked another button and I jumped as the weird little white thing blasted sound into my ear. Completely unexpected.

I listened to the noise. It was coordinated and flowing, extremely fast, and it made me want to jump up and dance around. Whoever was singing had a great voice. I stared at Ichigo, who was watching my reaction. He pressed another button and the music stopped.

"Ok, Shiro, you've heard of music right?"

"Only through yur memories, but yea."

"Well that's what that was. Would you like to hear a different song?"

I looked at him curiously, smiling and nodding. I probably looked like a kid in a candy shop. _'Why am I acting like this? I'm not nice like this, I don't get excited over little things. So what's going on? I just feel….so…weird. It feels like I just can't stop smiling! Wait….how can I feel like this? I don't feel emotions, I'm a hollow!'_

More sounds pushed their way into my head, but these sounds were rawer, and whoever was singing sounded like they were screaming at the same time. _'That must hurt…' _

_I did my time_

_And I want out_

_So abusive, Fate, it doesn't cut_

_The soul is not so vibrant._

_The reckoning, the sickening_

_Back at you, subversion, pseudo-sacred, psycho virgin._

I loved the sound of it. I already knew what guitars and drums were, so I identified the hard-core beat the drummer made, and couldn't help myself. My head started to bob.

"Man, this song is kick ass, King! What is it?"

"Psychosocial, by Slipknot."

_And the rain will kill us all_

_If we throw ourselves against the wall_

_But no one else can see_

_The preservation of the martyr in me_

_Psychosocial, Psychosocial, Psychosocial_

The hard-beated song ended too soon, in my opinion. When the drummer hit his last note, I sighed sadly, even though the adrenaline from the jerkiness of the song made me want to move around spastically. My stare trained on Ichigo, glaring at him to choose another song faster. His eyes widened when he saw my facial expression, and he smirked.

"Enjoying this, Shiro?"

"Hell yeah, King, now move on t' the next song!"

"Mmk, I'm gonna show you a different type of music. Remember the first song we listened to?" I gave an affirmative nod. "Well, that was a mix of rap and hip-hop. This one's just rap."

Genres of music still out of my grasp, I just nodded, pretending I knew what the hell he was talking about. I mean honestly, why does he expect me to know so much about music? I love it, but I didn't really _start _loving it 'til tonight!

The new song started slow, and moving. The sad tone made me wince._ 'Wait, since when do I care if humans feel sad? I mean it's not like I care….right?'_

Another voice broke into the song. His voice was rough, yet smooth at the same time. He sounded like he was suppressing emotions, but let some leak into the song to give it more color. Instead of singing, most of the time he was talking.

'_So this is rap….'_

_But you'd have to walk a thousand miles  
In my shoes, just to see  
What it's like, to be me  
I'll be you, let's trade shoes  
Just to see what it'd be like  
To feel your pain, you feel mine  
Go inside each others' minds  
Just to see what we'd find  
Look at shit through each others' eyes_

'_This guy sounds like he's been through alotta shit. Where the hell are 'is family and friends? Why can' they help 'im?' _

_Don't let 'em say you ain't beautiful  
They can all get fucked, just stay true to you  
So don't let 'em say you ain't beautiful  
They can all get fucked, just stay true to you_

Choking back a chuckle when he said "Fuck" during the chorus, I wondered what possessed him to do that. It sounded so out of place! The music was steadily flowing through me, affecting my entirety. I could feel my eyes prick and twitch, my nose starting to burn.

'_Wh-Wha' the hell? What's 'is…Am I losin' my edge? I can' keep listenin' to stuff like 'is, or these damn emotions'll mess'up my fightin' instinct and make me weak, like King!' _

Despite the thoughts passing through my head, I continued listening, not being able to get enough of these songs. They all left an imprint on me, pushing me in one direction or another, and it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

The song ended without my noticing, but my eyes and nose were still burning. I blinked, willing the odd sensation away. A gaze was boring into my snow white hair, and I raised my head, unsurprised to see King staring at me.

"Wha' is it, King?"

"Just watching your reaction. It's ok to cry ya know. Eminem puts a lot of emotion into his songs, so it's normal to cry."

'_So I was feeling sad a minute ago….I was about to _cry_…' _

Ichigo's gaze softened and he whispered quietly to me, "I think you're developing emotions, Shiro."

I winced, realizing he had seen my tears. He leaned forward and put his hand to my chest. His touch was warm, making me shiver, and I remained still until he pulled back.

When he spoke, his voice sounded shocked. "You have a heartbeat."

I immediately put my hand where his had been, and felt a soft thumping against it.

'_Oh…..oh shit….I've finally done it…There goes my plan on not getting these emotions..'_

My hand was still frozen on my chest, my face a mixture of horror, awe, and shock, with perhaps a little fear mixed in. The expression must've been pretty funny 'cause Ichigo started laughing.

I was still too shocked about the newest development to glare at my counterpart.

"This…This is..madness…."

"THIS IS SPARTA!"

My 'are-you-completely-insane' look pointed at Ichigo just made him grin more. "I suppose you don't know what that is. I'll have to show you later." The thought of us doing something like this again, implied in his 'later', made my insides quiver, and I simply nodded.

I turned my attention towards the iPod, wanting to here more music, but faster paced, so I wouldn't feel that weirdness again. '_I should ask Ichigo to explain all the human emotions, so I won't be so freaked out next time…' _My staring at the iPod turned into a glaring, wishing that Ichigo would take the hint, but he was too deep in his thoughts to notice me.

Exasperated, an idea formed in my head. I knew how to get Ichigo's attention. I smiled, with a hint of the maniac in me reflected in it. I opened the mind link again, and proceeded to scream '_ICHIGO! TURN ON MORE MUSIC!'_ into his head. He jumped about a foot off the bed, a death glare pointed straight at me. I, of course, was laughing silently, hard enough to shake the bed I was sitting on.

Ichigo flipped me the birdie, but picked up the iPod again. This one started quiet, but after a few seconds a man's voice came in, followed by a crazy guitar solo.

_My love is, just waiting to turn your tears to roses_

_I will the one who's gonna hold you_

_I will be the one that you run to_

_My love is a burning, consuming fire_

These lyrics…I liked them. A lot. I felt the feeling of the music flowing through me again, and I felt like it had awoken a part of me. But, what did it mean? I felt like this towards someone..and I knew that someone was sitting right next to me.

Ichigo wasn't paying attention to me right now, instead bobbing his head to the rhythm of the song. Thank goodness, cause I was sure my nerves were showing all over my face. This was bad. This was real bad. How could I like my King? He hated me, to the point where he suppressed me, because he thought I would hurt people, like his family and friends. He thought I was going to devour him.

What he didn't know was that those were empty threats, meant to keep him on his toes, always on guard. The fights I would always have with him in his inner world? To make him stronger, because I was stronger than him.

Taking over during fights? To keep us alive.

I always told myself that I did those things that I would get stronger too, to where the point where I _could _take over his body. But, I guess, it was because, without realizing it, I had fallen in love with Ichigo, the substitute soul reaper/human, my counterpart, my opposite, and my King.

_No, you'll never be alone  
When darkness comes I'll light the night with stars  
Hear my whispers in the dark  
No, you'll never be alone  
When darkness comes you know I'm never far  
Hear the whispers in the dark_

Those lyrics were so true. Ichigo is never alone. I'm always there for Ichigo, just waiting to help him. When he's up against the world, I'll be by his side, no matter what happens. Man I sound like a girl. This is so clichéd, but everything sounds clichéd now, doesn't it?

The song was ending, and Ichigo's eyelids were drooping. I saw them shut, and the flicker back open.

"Yer tired. 'm sorry, I'll leave," I whispered to King. He mumbled, blinked a few more times. He mumbled again, but I couldn't make out what he said.

He tried again, making it above a whisper so I could understand him better.

"I'll….leave my iPod headphones…in my….ear..so…you can listen..while I sleep.."

I smiled at the kind gesture, and thanked him quietly. I scooted closer, pleased when he didn't tense up Then suddenly, surprising us both, I leaned over and gently kissed his cheek. Before he could respond, I started to fade back to his inner world.

"G'night….Ichigo."

Landing back on the boring blue buildings, I reminisced about the night.

'_These damn human emotions're gonna be the death o' me….'_

**Hm. This didn't go exactly as planned, but hey, I enjoyed doing it. 8 pages? Almost 3,000 words? It feels awfully short though….**

**This story has been gnawing at my brain for a while, so it's a relief to finish it. Please review, criticism would be great, seeing as this is one of my first fics. Thanks :D**

**Song names: **

**More-Usher**

**Psychosocial-Slipknot**

**Beautiful-Eminem**

**Whispers in the Dark-Skillet**

**P.S. I wanted to do more songs, but decided that I'd probably be repeating myself a bit, so I limited it to these. I obviously don't own or have any rights to own these songs, no matter how much I'd like to! **

**I hope you enjoyed reading!**__


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I have put up a sequel to this oneshot (which will be multi-chap), and was inspired and suggested by whitespiderlilly, so I thank you very much for that! It's called Taming the Demon, so go on to my profile and check it out, review, favorite, or whatever you'd like. Thanks so much for reading Whispers in the Dark, and if you do read TTD, thank you, xiexie ni, gracias, ummmmmmmm that's all the thank you's in other languages that i can think of right now... Those were English, Chinese, and Spanish. Yea...**

**Til next time!**

**d(^.^)z**


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